Hi Everyone I belong to Family Motor Coach and they are celebrating their 50th Anniversay in Gillette Wyoming JUne 19 to the 22nd. I have never traveled out west. Don't know how much time to allow for traveling and still enjoy the trip and not have to be in a hurry. Really would like to go but maybe some seasoned travelers have some suggestions. Don't know what kind of weather I will experience. One thing I would love to do is Yellowstone National Park and would like to stop in Elkart, IN to see the factory, seeing it is on the way. Otherwise postpone Elkart till PC September REunion. That should be an experience in itself since I've never been to Michigan. Enjoying my PC 2010 2551. Any suggestions??

Many routes that can be taken.When near Yellowstone, make sure you get to Cody, WY. Great town and a rodeo every night. Then there's the museum and the gunfight outside the Erma Hotel.If you'll have a TOAD, make sure you take the Chief Joseph Highway to the Beartooth (US 212) and then over to Red Lodge, MT.

When we did the trip from NEPA we eventually got to the Mormon & Oregon Trails & stopped at Chimney Rock.

Allow at least 2 weeks to get to Gillette.

We'll be leaving NEPA in late May for the trip to SLC, UT but will be taking a different route this time.

Regardless, you'll be taking I-84 to 380 to I-81 south to I-80 west. Unless to do Route 6 West to eventaually get to I-80 west.

I'll try this again, browser just cratered. Black Hills are on the way and lots to see/do if you have a toad. Once you get West of the Mississippi it's pretty open, less traffic and lots of miles and boredom. I would not take I-70 to St Louis if I had a choice, lots of the I-70 cities are not RV friendly from a traffic standpoint. I-80 is not much better but has a natural tie in to 1-90 from Omaha. If you are that close YNP is a given, along with Grand Teton NP. MOO, Bozeman is a neat town to do the North part of YNP. Then to do the South part you pretty much have to move toward Jackson/Tetons, reservations are pretty much mandatory in that that whole area.Another option is to go across the Bighorns and center your driving out of the East entrance to YNP, IIRC Cody or there abouts. Only consider Glacier NP if you have time to burn, here again JMO it does not compare to YNP or GTNP and is a long haul both ways.

We live on Route 212 in Red Lodge MT, and i wanted to address something that was said about travel in our area, i think that the writer got the towns mixed up.

Here is what was said; "If you'll have a TOAD, make sure you take the Chief Joseph Highway to the Beartooth (US 212) and then over to Red Lodge, MT."

First the drive over the Beartooths from or to Red Lodge on HIghway 212 is truly beautiful, but is fully of long long -- 12+ miles long -- switchbacks. But you really want to think about whether you want to drive a MH up or down, with or without a toad. The down is more than 5,500 feet and always down, few pull offs with most of the road at the edge of the canyon.

If you are in Cody, just take the highway -- only road north to Belfry WY then 18 miles to Red Lodge, flat and strait

Drive the toad up or down withouut the MH. That way be what the writer meant to say.

Or the writer may have been telling you the best way to go to Cook City from Red Lodge when you are concerned about the long up road. Then the advice is to avoid Highway 212, and instead go south through Belfry WY south toward Cody and then take the Chief Joseph Highway to Cook City. You pick up highway 212 about 30 miles up the Chief Joseph highway. not a bad road, some switchback, but shorter and more gentler climbs and about 1,000 feet lower than the Beartooth pass on highway 212.

In either case be aware that with budget sequestration, we were just told the Beartooths will not be open ( snow removal delayed until sometime in mid June). Could be a harbinger of what may come.

Also if you look at a map from Gillette to Cody you see several highways going across the mountains (e.g., highway 16) if you consider taking this -- and even i won't take this one down or up -- i take my E450 up the Beartooths because otherwise i could not go anywhere -- wife just gets white nuckles.

One last comment: Gilletteis a boom town with little housing, the local RV facilites are full of oil workers, so make resevations in advance.

Greg,I assumed they would use the TOAD, which is why said it the way I did. However, as I am wont to do, I perhaps wasn't clear enough.The best way to do 212 is not in a MH (although we did it in a 2350 2 years ago - sure wouldn't do it in our Alpine though).We went out of Cody on the highway and picked up Chief Joseph on our left a little way out. The only disappointment was the CJ didn't go far enough until we got on 212.

thanks for all the tips. I am staying Family Motor Coach Association in Gillette Cam-Plex facility and have reservations. there should be over 1000 motorhomes participating. My conern was leaving there for YS and do appreciate the tips on the roads. I am still gathering info and planning and as I get closer I will asked alot of questions with info centers as come along. I was interested in Custer State Park or in that area. Still doing my homework on it... I will also have an experienced Truck driver with me. SHe used to drive tractor trailers years ago...This is a big help.

This guy does the best write up I have seen on the different ways into Yellowstone NP. I have been in and out all five entrances to the park and agree with what he has to say. I have yet to make it over the whole of the Beartooth Hwy due to snow closing the road from Red Lodge, only did the western half from Cooke City. Some of his other write ups are also very good, so go to his home page and look around.

On the way to the Reunion, you might want to see the "Corn Palace" in Mitchell, SD, Wall drug and the bad lands near Wall, SD, Mount Rushmore and Custer state park in the Black Hills. Also just inside WY is Devils tower. There are two campgrounds, we stayed at the KOA with the view of the tower. It is about one hour to Gillette and the reunion. Good place to stay the night before and fill/empty your tanks.

We made the trip to YNP from Michigan a couple of years ago and had a great time. We agree with Tom's suggestions about places to stop. One thing to add is that if you are not members of Passport America (PA) it might be something to check into.

When we stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD the campground we stayed at was R&R Campground and the owner showed us the Passport America book. We were relunctant to join but at the time it only cost us an extra $22.00. She showed us the many Passport parks out west and it became obvious we could save $$$.

We did a review of the many parks and most of them got good to excellent reviews. In Custer we stayed at the Broke Arrow Campground that was in the middle of anywhere you wanted to go. An excellent campground at only $15 a night. We visited Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, and a couple of the other NP in the area.

When we visited Devils Tower we stayed in their campground ($6 for seniors). Totally rustic so you could check out your generator. When we were parked we looked out our window with the Tower in the background.

On that same trip we visited Zion NP (stayed in the park) and Arches NP (stayed at OK RV Park in Moab, another PA Park at only $15). Both great places to stay.

I read the information on the website that Tom recommended, and the discussion on getting over the Big Horn Mountains is on point. What a great resource, though the website author took a rather cavalier approach for motorhomes on the climb out of Red Lodge up the Beartooths in his recommendations at the end of the discussion.

Again great resource, i will share with those who visit us. Thanks Tom.